The Bonds We Forge
by mystic moogle
Summary: Lucina sees a future in which Christmas is filled with apathy and sadness. Little does she know, a certain Monado-wielder experiences the same vision. Together, can they change the fate of Christmas before it's too late? For Smash King24's Christmas Contest.
1. Oh, Naga!

**A/N:** Happy Holidays, everyone! Heh, I know it's another Lucina fic, but I've had this idea since mid-November so I couldn't bear to let it go so easily. I've read some of the other entries around and I must say, they're really good! You guys oughta be proud of yourselves!

Also, lightly inspired by Tim Burton's 'Nightmare Before Christmas'. Good luck to everyone else in the contest, and enjoy!

x - x - x

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

The room was silent except for the sound of Lucina's hammer. She was currently sitting in the garage of the Smash Mansion, working diligently beside her 2D friend. Together, they were building a strange contraption.

She was not sure what it was, with its clunky edges and round attachments, but she did not mind. Lucina's mind was elsewhere, in a land far, far away, where snow fell delicately upon the ground and the hearth of the fireplace crackled in the hush.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Her ears were deaf to the sound of her hammer's incessant tapping, for her mind was filled with the wonderful sound of caroling children and joyous laughter. Ornaments glittered on the trees and pretty presents were exchanged for smiles. Every window of every house glowed golden radiance, revealing a glimpse of the warmth found within.

Lucina sighed, and the illusions vanished. How tantalizing it all was! Ever since Mario had made the announcement of a 'Christmas celebration' on the 25th, her mind had been stuck in a hole. She had not known what the holiday was about, or even _heard_ of this newfangled thing called 'Christmas', so she had taken it upon herself to travel to the mansion's library and do some research.

Of course, she was no Robin; she did not like to stay in stuffy places and read books. No matter how much she read, she simply could not grasp the true meaning of Christmas. Thank the Gods for children's books! Their pictures explained things much better than rows of text ever could. Christmas was about having fun and receiving presents.

"Beep!"

Lucina took one last glance at the blueprint Mr. Game & Watch had laid out, and gave a satisfactory nod. She stilled her hammer and studied their work. It was a curious thing, covered in all sorts of gadgets and gears. Nevertheless, she found it quite endearing.

"Beep?"

"I believe our work is done, my short friend," she affirmed with a smile. "Care to enlighten me?"

The little man gave another merry 'beep' and wandered over to the other side of his contraption. In his process of doing so, he accidentally knocked over one of the vital gears. The entire thing began to lean to the side like the Tower of Pisa.

"Oh, Gods!" Lucina rushed forward to try and rectify the situation. She grasped both sides of the contraption with her hands and urged it to stand aright again.

"BEEP!"

Mr. Game & Watch was hopping up and down and beeping wildly, but she was not sure what it meant. Releasing the strange contraption, the thing began to whir to life, eliciting a gasp from Lucina.

Gears turned heavily and rusty pipes spewed out steam. Its movements grew progressively faster and faster until the contraption itself was madly shaking, as if it could no longer contain its immense power.

The sound of her friend's alarmed beeps filled her ears as the machine continued to churn out of control. Lucina stood there, dumbfounded, as a great white light shot out of the machine and enveloped her—_blinding_ her—until the world around her became very still. She could no longer hear her friend's alarmed beeps, nor the whirring of the machine.

A hand flew to her head as her vision cleared. Lucina took a shaky breath as she perused the area. "Sir Game & Watch?"

Her short friend was nowhere to be seen. The contraption was nowhere in sight, either. Gods... she wasn't even in the garage anymore!

She was standing at the end of a corridor in the mansion, though she could not divine her exact location. It was as if a dark haze had settled over the mansion. Perhaps it was night time?

No... this haze was much stronger, imbued with the power of melancholy. She glanced outside. The earth was covered in a thick sheet of snow, and every crystal fell by its lonesome. Lucina shivered and realized it was no longer the 12th of December.

She traveled down the vast hallway and paid close attention to the name plates on the doors. Finally, the swordswoman came upon the name 'Robin', her closest friend.

She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Come in," came a muffled voice.

She opened the door with great care, as if this was all dream that could shatter at the slightest misstep. The mage was hunched over his desk like usual, buried in a sea of text.

Sighing, Lucina made her way over. She paused to check the calendar on the wall. December 25th was circled and, immediately, she knew. Robin always circled the date on his calendar.

The woman swallowed thickly and continued to his desk. She mustered a smile in spite of her terrible confusion. "Merry Christmas."

"Likewise," Robin replied and continued penning away at his notes.

Lucina did not allow herself to be deterred. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Are you planning on attending the Christmas celebration?"

The man laid down his quill and turned to look at her. "I don't have time for silly things like Christmas," he answered wearily. "Lucina, we don't even _celebrate_ Christmas."

"Yes, I am well-aware. It's just..." She bit her lip, struggling to find an answer in the face of logic.

Robin gave her a sympathetic look. "I understand where you're coming from, Lucina. Even if we _did_ celebrate Christmas…" He leaned back into his chair as a sigh filtered through his lips. "Well, perhaps you should take a look out there for yourself."

"All right." At least this would slake her curiosity. "Pardon me, then."

She bid her friend farewell and left the room. A miasma of fears arose as she advanced down the hallway. Just what sorts of things would she come upon...?

The other smashers were seated in the den. Everyone was minding their own business, silent bystanders on this Christmas day. Some were reading, some were polishing weapons; and others were merely gazing out the window, watching the snow make its steely descent upon the earth.

There was no Christmas splendor in sight. No smiles, no laughter...

Lucina frowned, feeling the melancholic air beginning to afflict her. She traveled deeper into the mansion, towards the living room. The haze grew progressively stronger, darker...

She gasped as something snaked by her feet.

"Who goes there?" she demanded, drawing her trusty Falchion. The sound of weeping caused her to drop her guard, and she lowered her blade.

A group of children smashers sat in the corner. The female Villager was gently weeping, while Ness and Toon Link were brooding beside her. Even Kirby wore a frown on his adorable countenance.

Lucina slid her sword into her sheath and approached them carefully. She was not very good with children, due to her serious nature and formal tone of speech, but she would not let that deter her.

"Is something the matter?"

They all nodded and presented their boxes. She realized after a moment that each box housed a gift, presumably for each child. It was too dark for her to make out the contents of each box, however.

"Ah... pardon me, for a moment."

Lucina squinted through the darkness and switched on a lamp. Suddenly, she let out a gasp as the contents of each box were revealed.

In the Villager's box was a baby doll with the face of a demon.

Kirby had a ghoulish puppet wielding an axe.

Ness's was a vampire teddy bear with very sharp teeth.

And Toon Link's was a monstrous train with tentacle tracks.

Lucina put a hand on her chest and calmed her palpitating heart. _What kinds of macabre Christmas presents...?_

She didn't have much time to contemplate however, for the female Villager let out a shriek and pointed to something in the corner.

A stuffed snake with black and orange stripes was devouring the Christmas tree whole. Lucina let out a cry and charged towards it, but not before a grinning nutcracker sprung towards her with a fake hammer. All around her were toys of a similar nature, equally dark and misshapen. They advanced towards her in a steely march until the poor girl could take no more of this madness!

x - x - x

Lucina awoke with a start. Beads of sweat trickled down her temple as a hand flew to her head. She glanced around.

Oh, thank the Gods!

She was back in the garage. Mr. Game & Watch was beeping worriedly at her, shaking the leg of her boot with a hand.

"I'm alright." She offered a weary smile. "A bit frazzled, I suppose, but I am not hurt."

Her senses returned fully and she realized she was holding something in the palm of her hand. Oh, Gods... was it one of the Christmas toys? It was not very heavy, and it felt cold against her skin.

Lifting her hand a bit, Lucina was tempted to look at the object, but she refrained from doing so. Mr. Game & Watch looked up at her in curiosity, causing her to grimace.

"I'm sorry, but... I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'd like to return to my quarters, if that's alright with you."

He beeped in understanding, though he still looked quite worried. Lucina ambled out of the garage and returned to her quarters. On her way up, she was accosted by Princess Zelda—who looked equally as worried—but Lucina made sure to keep up her calm and composed appearance. It wasn't until she approached the door to her bedroom and swiftly entered that she allowed herself to breathe. Locking the door, she slumped against the white paneling until she was level with the ground.

She stared at an empty space on the wall. _What on Earth...?_

That couldn't have been real. It was all too bizarre. The time travel, the toys, the vision itself. How had she traveled across the expanse of time without Naga's assistance? Was it all a dream? Perhaps that machine was designed to create faulty memories.

Lucina thought briefly about going back downstairs to ask Mr. Game & Watch about his contraption, but she decided against it. She did not wish to trouble her friend any further, as that would require sharing the details of her horrific experience.

Should she tell Robin? No... that wouldn't do her any good for the same reason. Besides, the white-haired mage had mentioned something about feeling 'stressed' lately, though he refused to tell her why.

Hesitantly, she opened the palm of her hand, praying to Naga that it wasn't something grotesque. It turned out to be quite the opposite. In her hand was an ornament in the shape of an angel, crafted from white porcelain.

Lucina recognized it as the ornament that was supposed to go on top of the tree—at least, according to the children's books. She lifted it into the air and admired it for a moment. The angel caught in the light and gleamed with iridescent brilliance.

She smiled softly. It was absolutely beautiful... but... _Oh, Gods_. The fact that she was holding it when she awoke meant that her experience was no mere illusion. Had she truly caught a glimpse of the future on Christmas day?

Shaking her head, the princess placed the angel into her pocket and recomposed herself. It would do her no good to ponder over it too deeply—not when she had a match to attend.

x - x - x

She was pitted against a fat man named 'Wario'. Who he was, she did not know, but he was as grotesque as the Christmas toys she had encountered.

Lucina fought sluggishly at first, distracted by thoughts of her vision. She swung her sword around carelessly and forgot to dodge a few punches, eliciting a few 'WA HA HA's from Wario.

Not that she minded. She was beginning to seriously contemplate the implications of what she had seen. The swordswoman was positive that she had merely imagined the toys coming to life, but the rest...

Lucina felt sorry for those children. They had received such harrowing gifts, when in the books the children received sweets and goodies.

She threw a Shield Breaker forward and missed by a hair's breadth. Wario taunted and rode away on his motorcycle, making obscene gestures. Lucina's brow furrowed, but not at her opponent.

She thought about how the older smashers were seated in the den—and suddenly—she became enraged. How dare they not celebrate such an esteemed holiday?! How _dare_ they laze around and polish their weapons?!

With a mighty cry, the woman unleashed her wrath upon the fat man and assaulted him with a flurry of sword jabs, each equally as angry and fervent. She fought him with such terrifying accuracy that the poor man's feet weren't even on the ground anymore; he was being juggled in the air like an orange until he made his final descent down the throat of death.

Lucina sheathed her sword as a sense of guilt began to weigh her down. She had no right to be angry at those smashers. She didn't even _understand_ the true meaning of Christmas! All she had to guide her was a series of tattered books.

The applause of the audience rang deaf in her ears as she left the stage. For the rest of the day, thoughts of what she had seen plagued her mind. Or rather, how to proceed from here on out.

Lucina wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. Should she try to save Christmas? Or would her efforts all be for naught? It wasn't as though anyone was in danger; as terrifying as those presents were, they had not harmed the children.

But when she recalled those looks of apathy on the smashers' faces, her heart sunk...

_Oh, Naga, please give me guidance..._

x - x - x

Night fell upon the mansion like a velvety blanket. Lucina had just finished her daily training session with the Hero-King, and quite frankly, she was very tired. She walked up the stairs at a brisk pace.

The hallway was dark, illuminated by nothing but the sconces lining the walls. There was a pool of moonlight by the window, however, and if she could just get to it—

"WAH!"

"OH GODS, I'M SO SORRY!"

The two figures stumbled into the moonlight, holding their heads. Lucina glanced up to see a male of a slightly greater stature with straw-colored hair.

"...Shulk? Are you hurt?" She grimaced slightly. "Please, forgive my carelessness."

"No need to apologize. I won't go down that easily." He wore a joking smile, one that put the Ylissean princess at ease.

"I see." Her lips curled into a smile. "Well, is there a reason why your hand is behind your back in such a manner?"

"N-no! Of course not!" His other hand flew behind his back in a futile attempt to hide his blunder.

She tipped a blue brow, and he took a step backwards.

"A-anyways, I really should be going now..." he told her, wearing a sheepish smile. "Nice chatting with you, Lucina!"

"Please, Shulk," she interjected, her face returning to its serious norm. "There is no need to hide anything from me. I promise not to tell anyone, if that is your wish."

He gazed at her for a long time, as if appraising her sincerity. Finally, he released a sigh and brought his hand forward.

Lucina stared. In his palm was a small angel ornament, crafted from white porcelain. It caught in the moonlight and gleamed with iridescent brilliance.

Her breath hitched. She glanced back up at him, and he was looking at her as if he was expecting to be ridiculed. _Of course. He has no idea..._

"Shulk, I..." Lucina fumbled around for something in the folds of her tunic. She brought her hand forward in the same manner as he and unraveled her fingers.

His attention was immediately drawn to the identical angel figure. "Lucina... where did you get that?!"

His eyes snapped back up to meet her face, and she tried to remain as calm as possible. "I'm not sure. All I know is that I woke up with it in the palm of my hand after..." She grimaced, not wanting to sound batty. "Well, it's a long story, but I believe I may have caught a glimpse into the future. May I ask how you acquired yours?"

"I see." Shulk withdrew his hand, and she followed suit. He placed the other one on his chin in a typical thinking pose. "The truth is, the Monado showed me a vision of the future on Christmas day. It was brief, but no one appeared to be in danger. Even so, it was pretty grim for a supposedly important holiday."

She nodded, prompting him to continue.

"And when I came to, I was holding this strange figure in my hand." He held it up again. "Any idea what it's used for? There's an indent on the bottom, leading me to believe that it's used for a greater purpose than a mere doll."

"Yes!" She smiled. "I researched some books in the library"—she purposely omitted the fact that they were children's books—"and the pictures showed that these ornaments are made to go on the top of a Christmas tree."

"Really?" He returned the smile. "I wonder what the logic behind that is...?"

Lucina nearly chuckled, feeling her barriers beginning to break down around the Homs boy. She quickly steeled herself as she made her decision.

"Shulk…" Her brows furrowed. "Will you help me create a brighter Christmas for the smashers?"

"Of course!" He raised his fist into the air, impassioned by her words. "The future is not yet written!"

"Wh-what?!"

Shulk laughed and patted her on the head. "I'm only joking, Lucina. Meet back here tomorrow?"

Flustered, she took a moment to regain her composure. "Very well. Good night, Shulk."

"Night, Lucina."

x - x - x

**A/N: **Heh, I know I'm cutting it close with the visions, but I figure since Shulk receives quest-related visions in the game I could bend the rules a bit. ...*crickets*

Also... this fic is lightly inspired by my own experience with Christmas. When I was little, Christmas was very magical: we used to put up stockings, decorate the tree together, bake cookies, and even put our light-up reindeer out on the lawn! But as I grew older and everyone became busier, and my parents no longer needed to maintain the illusion of Santa Claus, that magic slowly dissipated. Year by year, one aspect of Christmas disappeared—the light-up reindeer, the stockings, the cookies, and recently, the ornaments—until there was a very thick layer of apathy in my household. We put up a fake tree now and throw some lights on it—we don't even wrap presents anymore, we're so minimalistic, ahaha. We just give them to each other in the brown cardboard box they come in. I want things to change, so _so_ badly, but I…

AHEM, in other words, I decided to take a different approach with this than have all the smashers celebrate Christmas. I'd just imagine most of them don't even know what Christmas is, and therefore don't care much, you know?

Also, if you'd like to know why Robin is 'stressed', feel free to give my other fic a read, though be warned that it involves multiple headcanons and a crack ship. Heh heh!

Thank you so much for reading! The next chapter should be up soon. Reviews are always very much appreciated.

- mystic moogle


	2. What Brings You Happiness?

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Lucina returned to their spot by the window the following day. She had heard that Shulk was scheduled for a match in the early afternoon, so she took it upon herself to wait for him a small while.

The swordswoman gazed out the window and towards the blazing sun, silently willing it to snow. Perhaps she even stood there longer than a short while, for Falco passed by her at some point and jokingly asked if she was 'waiting for a secret lover' or 'meeting someone on an afternoon tryst'. Of course, she denied such claims vehemently, though she could not mask her embarrassment upon wondering just how long she had stood there, lost in her thoughts. She dreamed of a world filled with fluffy snow and trees topped with ornaments.

The sound of footsteps broke her reverie, and she glanced down the corridor to see the Homs boy hurrying over to her. He paused to catch his breath as he approached her, resting his hands on his knees with a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Greetings, Shulk," Lucina said with a smile. "How does the day find you?"

"Hey! Sorry I'm late," he replied in his charming accent as he straightened fully. "I was in a Sudden Death match with Meta Knight, and you wouldn't believe how long it spanned! It must have been at least twenty minutes!"

"Gods!" Lucina looked at him, shocked. "How could that be?"

"Well, the little guy kept using his Shuttle Loop to stay on the ledge of the stage, so I kept doing the same thing on the other side with my Air Slash. The bomb-ombs were falling everywhere until one finally hit me! _Man_, was it intense! I was_ really_ feeling it!"

He raised his fist into the air again and Lucina couldn't help but chuckle at his obvious zest for life. He would prove to be a most valuable ally in their efforts. Together, nothing could stop them from saving Christmas!

"So..." Shulk tilted his head to the side. "What should we do first?"

Lucina blinked. "Ah... I hadn't thought about it yet." She inwardly berated herself for her lack of consideration, though Shulk didn't seem to mind. He merely placed his hand on his chin in his usual thinking pose.

"Well, do either of us know anything about Christmas? What did your resources say?"

Lucina tried to think of an activity the smashers could partake in on such a holiday. She searched through her mind, until...

"Sledding? That seems to be quite the popular activity on Christmas!" she said with a blithe smile.

"Ooh! That sounds like fun!"

"Very much so! Although..." Her brows furrowed. "I believe some smashers have an aversion to cold temperatures, so perhaps not..." She gazed upon him levelly. "Shulk? May I ask you a question?"

He retained his thinking pose. "Definitely."

"What brings you happiness?"

Shulk looked taken aback by such a question. Lowering his hand, he answered, "Cheering my friends on in battle."

Lucina smiled, recalling all those times the Monado-wielder encouraged his friends with a lively 'Let's go, everyone!' or 'Come on, we can do even better!'. Although she wasn't sure how effective a Christmas brawl would be in brightening the mood.

"Well..." Her smile took on a slightly conflicted state, to which he responded with some more consideration.

"Er... developing weapons in the lab?"

Lucina nearly slapped her forehead, like she had seen Robin do time after time. Still, she refused to give in.

"Ooh! I know! Eating makes everyone happy." He nodded. "I have a friend back home who makes the most amazing stew, and one taste of it cheers me right up."

The swordswoman smiled. "What a lovely idea! Even the blackest of souls cannot resist the temptation of food." She thought about the lavish feasts she saw in the Christmas books, complete with ham and various cakes. "Pray tell, how shall we acquire such food?"

"Well," he placed his hand back on his chin, "I hear Rosalina is in charge of the mansion's food affairs. If we could just borrow her silver card to get into the store..."

Lucina looked alarmed. "Wouldn't such a thing result in dire consequences?"

"I don't think so. According to Link, Master Hand isn't overly concerned with these things; the only reason Rosalina is in charge is because Ike went on a crazy chicken run last year and robbed every store of their chicken within a twenty-mile radius."

"Oh dear." Well, that changed her perspective on the Radiant Hero. She certainly hoped Kirby never got his hands on such a card!

"Tell me about it! I highly doubt Master Hand will care if we buy a few extra things for Christmas, but if something _does _happen, I don't mind taking the blame." He gazed upon her earnestly, and she responded with a smile.

"No," Lucina said firmly. "If something does happen, we shall take the blame in equal parts."

Shulk smiled back, and the two allies finished up their conversation and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. They agreed that they would hold off on purchasing any meat until the day before, lest it spoiled, but they were thankful that there were so many smashers with a sweet tooth. Christmas cakes were a necessity for a proper Christmas feast!

x - x - x

A delicious smell wafted through the air as they entered the kitchen. Kirby and Luma were by the stove cooking up stew for the smashers, each wearing a tiny white chef hat atop their heads. The pink puffball was stirring the concoction in his prized golden pot, while Luma was helping him out by adding various spices and chopped vegetables. Rosalina was in the corner supervising them, for she did not need to exert much effort to do so; one lift of her enchanted wand, and soup puddles dispersed and faulty ingredients returned to the pantry.

It was an utterly endearing sight to behold.

Rosalina, however, looked quite exasperated, as she would have to leave the little ones to their own devices soon. She grabbed a star-shaped purse and a small grocery list.

"Beg pardon, Rosalina," Lucina said, startling the Queen of Cosmos. "May we ask a favor of you?"

"Mmhmm. If it is within my power, I am always happy to assist," she replied elegantly. "However, it will have to wait until I return from my trip to the earthlings' store." She lifted her wand again, and the garish block of cheese Luma was trying to add returned to the fridge.

Lucina and Shulk exchanged glances.

"Er, well, that's exactly the reason Lucina and I are here!" Shulk piped up. "We were wondering if you'd let us go shopping in your stead."

Rosalina didn't even bat an eyelash as she used her magic to clean up a puddle Kirby had spilled onto the floor. "I cannot comply with your wishes, I'm afraid. Master Hand has assigned me to this role, and I must see that it is fulfilled."

She floated briskly over to the door and pulled out a silver card from a drawer, alarming the little ones with her proximity to the exit.

"Mama?" Luma stopped adding miscellaneous ingredients to the stew and looked up.

"Poyo!" Kirby said.

"Oh, but..." Lucina couldn't help but frown at such a display. "It seems the little ones require your assistance themselves. Are you sure?"

"Yeah... Honestly, we don't mind going shopping for you, Rosalina," Shulk added. "You already do so much around the mansion. This is the least we can do as your fellow newcomers."

Rosalina gazed at the two smashers, before diverting her attention towards her children. Of course, Kirby was not a 'star-child' per se, but it was known that she thought of him with the same fondness as she did Luma after watching their friendship unfold. She gave a great sigh; the little ones were gazing at her with shining eyes.

"Very well." She floated over towards Shulk and Lucina and handed them her necessities. Rosalina's eyes seemed to sparkle. "May the two of you have a safe journey, and thank you!"

The cosmic goddess waved her wand and summoned a portal out in the hallway, in the space between the kitchen and the corridor. "Leave whenever you are ready."

The duo thanked her profusely and left the room. They stood beside the star-shaped portal that glowed with kaleidoscopic power.

"Gee, now I'm extra glad we decided to go shopping," Shulk said. "Poor Rosalina!"

"I agree. Assuming the role of a mother is no easy task," Lucina replied. "I quite admire the Queen of Cosmos." She unfolded the piece of paper and stared blankly at it.

"Well? What does it say?" Shulk asked curiously. "Are we in over our heads?"

"It just says... milk."

They stared at the list together, and the Monado-wielder burst out laughing. Lucina found herself smiling, though it was more out of relief than humor.

"Speaking of which," she began, "have you ever gone shopping in this realm, Shulk? As two newcomers, I believe we know nothing about this fabled 'superstore' the others speak of."

He placed his hand on his chin as the laughter abated. "Hmm, I suppose you're right. We'll have to ask one of the veterans to help us."

Lucina sighed, for she was not very partial to the idea, but she could find no real reason to argue. "Very well. Perhaps that is our best course of option."

Her brows furrowed as she continued her train of thought. "It will have to be someone wise, someone intelligent... someone well-versed in the ways of food-shopping..."

x - x - x

They ended up in front of the door to Yoshi's room.

"Wait, wait, out of all the smashers, we choose the green dinosaur?!" Shulk asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Lucina smiled. "Yoshi has shown exemplary prowess on the battlefield, and his loyalty to Mario is unmatched. Furthermore, he is one of the original twelve smashers, so I'd imagine he is well-versed in the ways of the superstore. Not to mention his love and knowledge of food knows no bounds!"

Shulk nearly slapped his forehead as she had earlier, but he refrained from doing so. Instead, he chuckled and said, "Oh, Lucina. Ever the serious one."

They rapped on the door to Yoshi's room, and the green dinosaur opened it shortly. He was holding some polish in one hand and a cloth in the other, for he had been polishing his prized red booties.

The two smashers explained their situation to him, careful to leave out as many details as possible, and he responded with a buoyant 'yosh, yosh!'. In other words, he would be happy to help them!

The trio made their way back to the kaleidoscopic portal and passed through it.

Before long, they were standing before a massive, nondescript building labeled, 'Smashco Wholesale Corporation'.

And by the Gods was it huge! It may as well have been the size of the fell-dragon himself!

Lucina and Shulk continued to gaze up at it in awe. Yoshi, however, was not fazed by such a prodigious building, for he had been here many times before.

"Yoshi," he said and pointed towards the entrance. The two smashers snapped out of their stupor and followed the green dinosaur across the parking lot.

There was a light layer of frost on the concrete, and Lucina couldn't help but smile as her boots left imprints in their wake. All around them, shoppers bustled to and fro, clad in mittens and apple-red scarves.

"Hey, Lucina?" Shulk asked. "Is there a reason you're wearing a disguise?"

Her hand flew instinctively up to her cold, hard mask. She had done her hair up in her usual 'Marth' disguise to complete the look, though she missed her long navy locks now that the temperature was growing frigid.

"No," she said quietly. "Just... one can never be too prepared."

"I see," Shulk smiled. "Well, it's quite nifty. You'll have to make me one sometime!"

Lucina smiled back. "I shall commission my friend with due haste, then." She handed Yoshi Rosalina's silver card and he swiped them into the store.

As soon as they entered, the world burst into a myriad of colors. All around them were shelves, aisles, and displays decked out in Christmas splendor. Silver snowflakes hung from the ceiling and fir trees topped with ornaments lined the front of the aisles. A man wearing a Santa suit waved merrily at them from his spot by the cash register, releasing Shulk and Lucina from their stupor.

Immediately, the two swordspeople forgot their inhibitions and rushed forward like two kids in a candy store. Not only was this place a Christmas wonderland, but the set-up was so convenient!

"Oh, Gods," Lucina said as she picked up a plush teddy bear. "Is this what shopping in this realm is like? This is nothing like Anna's merchant tent!"

"Tell me about it!" Shulk marveled at the various labels hanging overhead. "Colony 9 has got nothing on this place!"

They continued to rush around the store like two children playing musical chairs. Lucina espied a wall labeled 'Deli Meat' and rushed over with a gasp, admiring all the beautiful red steaks. "Oh, Naga, my days of eating Frederick's bear meat are over!"

"And so are my days of eating curry!" Shulk said as he admired the packaged foods on the shelves. He then turned around and spotted something he would never forget: the technology aisle. Needless to say, the Homs boy ran right over there and immersed himself in his own kind of heaven. "Amazing! I've never seen so many monitors!"

"Isn't it spectacular?" Lucina gushed as she perused the various aisles filled with supplies. "I can finally shop without that redheaded siren trying to place sultry designs on my father!"

"And _I _can finally shop without that crazy lady screaming at me to buy ether lamps!"

Shulk halted in his tracks as the smell of something sweet wafted through the air. He followed the scent until he came upon a wizened old lady with a tray of freshly baked cookies. She waved him over to her stand and offered him a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.

"Why, hello there, sonnyboy! Would you like a cookie?"

"Would I ever!" He grinned and reached out to accept it, but then stopped short. Merchants always asked him for favors. As much as Shulk liked helping people, he wasn't sure if he was ready to accept a day-long quest of delivering biscuits to her grandson or defeating a horde of angry Mechon on the beach. "Um, if I accept this cookie, will you send me away on a grueling journey?"

The little old lady just smiled. "No, dearie. It's free! Happy holidays!"

"Oh, wow, thank you!"

By the time Yoshi found his two subordinates, their arms were filled to the brim with various goods. Shulk's were saddled with tools and computer monitors, while Lucina held boxes of ornaments and decorations for the mansion. Yoshi let out a loud 'AHEM' and tapped his foot minutely, earning him two guilty looks from the smashers. They placed their items back onto the shelves and gazed down at their feet.

"Sorry, Yoshi," Shulk said.

"I'm so sorry," Lucina added. "We'll see that it never happens again."

Yoshi smiled, for he didn't want his two subordinates to be sad! He waved his arms around with a cheerful 'yosh, yosh!' and everything was alright again.

"Yeah!" Shulk agreed, sweeping his fist into the air. "Let's get on with the real shopping!"

"I second that!" Lucina exclaimed, unwittingly emulating Shulk's gesture with her own fist. They stared at her for a long time, before bursting into a fit of laughter. The swordswoman blushed heavily and put her fist down, though she could not hide the smile blooming across her face.

The trio then spent the rest of their time gathering supplies for the Christmas cakes. Their first stop was the dairy section, in which they made sure to buy a jug of milk for Rosalina and several others for their own purposes. Yoshi warned them to buy Link's special 'Lon Lon Milk' instead of Wario's 'Milk of Magnesia', and the duo could only readily comply without bothering to question who in the world patented Wario's line of groceries.

They were temporarily swayed by the beautiful Christmas cakes in the bakery section, though they knew better than to buy the mass-produced confections in lieu of baking their own. If anything, seeing such beautiful cakes merely spurred them on and gave them a better idea of what to strive for.

Shulk and Lucina fought in the pâtissier section; the Monado-wielder wanted a 'chocolate cake topped with strawberries' and Lucina wanted a more conservative 'vanilla cake with lemon icing'. They argued until Yoshi merely rolled his eyes and dumped the whole shelf into the basket.

Their last stop was the produce section. Shulk went to retrieve his precious strawberries while Lucina did the same with her lemons. They both noticed Yoshi seemed very 'on edge' in this section, though for what reason, they were not sure. It wasn't until the green dinosaur dived into the fruit-filled paradise with his tongue hanging out that they realized their fatal mistake.

"YOSHIII!" he exclaimed and gulped down every last melon, strawberry, and banana.

Shulk and Lucina gasped and rushed forward to try and rectify the situation, but by the time they reached him, it was too late.

"Take 'em away, boys!" shouted a familiar voice, and two burly men came and hauled Yoshi off into a blue racing car. The green dinosaur was still in his fruit-induced bliss and hardly seemed to notice—or care, for that matter. "This one's on me! It's back to the mansion for this little guy."

"Yoshiii..." His blissful voice echoed off into the distance as he was carried away.

Shulk and Lucina could only stare wide-eyed at the seemingly surreal spectacle, until something occurred to them.

"Wait—CAPTAIN FALCON?!"

"That's my name!" The racer turned around and did an epic victory pose. He then straightened as he realized something. "Oh, hey, Shulk! I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

The Monado-wielder nodded dumbly, and he and Lucina followed the man wordlessly to the cash register. He pushed a few buttons and it went off with a 'DING!'.

"So," Falcon tucked his arm over the countertop and waggled his eyebrows, "who's your friend?"

Lucina snapped out of it and reached up to touch her Marth mask. She cleared her throat to make sure her voice was deep and rugged, and then spoke, "My name is Mar... tha."

"Martha?" Falcon raised his eyebrows, though they could not see it. "So you _are _a girl!"

She looked to Shulk for help, for everyone knew that Lucina was one of the worst improv liars in the multi-verse. Shulk snapped out of his stupor and waved his arms around.

"Err... what he _means _to say is..." He placed his hand on his chin. "Marth... er." A light bulb appeared over his head thereafter. "Yes! That's it! Marthur. _Sir _Marthur!"

Lucina nearly face-palmed, but kept up her cool and dark appearance.

"Ohhh." Falcon gave a nod of understanding, and reached out his hand to give her a strong handshake. "Well, nice to meet you, Marthur! The name's Falcon. Douglas J. Falcon. Greatest racer and smasher of all time."

Shulk shot him a look, as if to silently refute that claim, and Falcon merely grinned. Lucina complied with his friendly handshake.

"I see," she nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you then, Sir Falcon."

He beamed proudly and began ringing up their items. "So, what brings you to the city, Marthur?" He rang up the first five flours in a jiffy, and then eyed the rest of the basket in suspicion. "Say... what's with all the cake ingredients? You guys going to a party or something?"

"N-no!" Shulk interjected, and resumed his thinking pose. "Marthur is just... a wedding planner!" He gave a sagely nod. "Yes. These cakes are necessary for the next big wedding."

This caught Falcon's attention effortlessly. "A _wedding_, you say?" He pulled out a notepad and a pen. "Well, sign me up, Shulk! You know the ladies can't resist a man in a tux!"

Shulk was beginning to sweat through his lies. "Th-that's the thing!" His voice was beginning to escalate in volume, capturing the attention of nearby passerbyers. "There _are _no ladies!"

Falcon looked at him strangely. "What do you mean? Of course there are! You know, brides... bridesmaids... cousins..."

"Well... that's because... it's..." Shulk looked as if he was about to explode. "_A gay wedding_!"

"WHAT?!" Falcon dropped his pen, and every shopper in the nearby proximity stared at them. Shulk, however, did not seem to notice.

_Oh, Naga, please give me guidance..._ Lucina was suddenly very grateful for her Marth mask.

"No way! Who's gettin' hitched?!" Falcon gripped the edges of the counter in his excitement. "I might know 'em!"

"Uhh..." Shulk wracked his brains for an answer, and then one came to him. He steeled himself and wrapped his arm around Lucina's waist, pulling her close. "We are. Marthur and I love each other very much."

The crowd '_awww'd_' and Lucina blushed twenty different shades of red. She was just glad her father wasn't here to witness this buffoonery!

Falcon smirked as he finished ringing up the last of their groceries. "Well, I didn't know ya had it in ya, Shulk!" He heaved two giant bags onto the countertop and tied two Santa hats onto the top. "Now get outta here, you two lovebirds! Happy holidays!"

The crowd cheered as they walked out of the store holding hands, each with a paper bag and Santa hat in tow. As soon as they were outside, they separated. Lucina found herself missing his warmth now that the frigid air was nipping at her skin, though she would not admit it.

"Sorry," Shulk's gaze flitted away as a hand came to rest in his golden locks. "I just... I wanted it to end."

Lucina smiled as she took off her mask. "As did I. Please, no need to apologize. I thought it was a very brave deed you did back there... Thank you, Shulk."

He looked vaguely surprised. "Y-yeah! Sure! No problem."

His gaze flitted away again, causing Lucina to sigh. She reached down to untie her Santa hat, before standing on her tippy-toes to place it on his head.

"Shall we get back to saving Christmas, now?" She smiled as she gazed up into his visage. "I have a friend who tells me the future is ours to decide."

His eyes snapped back up to meet her face. A grin spread across his lips. "Did you just...?"

Her smile widened. "Why, Shulk, I would never!"

The blond laughed. "So you _are _capable of making jokes! And here I thought we were all doomed!"

"I beg your pardon?" Her face returned to its serious norm, though she still wore the trace of a smile. "I'll have you know I am _quite _the jokester back home!"

"Really?" He adopted his thinking pose again, before letting out a gasp and pointing to something in the distance. "Lucina! Look! A Risen!"

"Wh-what?! HYAAA!" She let out a mighty battle-cry and charged in the direction he was pointing. When no zombie-faced foe appeared, she grew very confused. The swordswoman glanced back and saw Shulk doubled over in laughter.

A heated blush rose to her cheeks and she stalked back over there like the calm before a storm.

"Uh-oh," Shulk said and started running away, making sure his Santa hat was attached securely to his head. "It was only a joke, Lucina!"

"A very poorly executed one, at that!" She began chasing after him. Luckily, she had inherited the speed of the Great Hero-King! "Now, submit! Running away is futile!"

"AHHHH!"

Lucina chased him all the way down to the bus stop one block over, earning them some very strange looks from the civilians. Eventually, they came to a truce; Shulk sealed the deal by untying his own Santa hat and placing it on her head, much like she had earlier.

They boarded the bus when it arrived. It was crowded and stuffy and made them _dearly _wish that Rosalina's cosmic powers were still at their disposal, but the speakers were playing 'Jingle Bells' so they decided that that somehow made it better.

While Lucina was pondering the lyrics, silently chuckling at the line 'Robin laid an egg', Shulk was glancing around curiously at the other passengers.

"Hey," he spoke up, right as the bus lurched on its wheels, "do you know why the other passengers are wearing red tuques similar to ours? I know they're Christmas-related, but I'm not sure what they're for." The Homs boy tilted his head forward and pinched the fabric in between two fingers.

Lucina blinked and removed her hat, admiring the soft red fabric and white pompom. "Well... according to the legends, there's a rotund man in a red suit named 'Santa Claus' who delivers presents to children who are good. This hat seems to symbolize his generosity."

"I see," Shulk nodded. "And the children who are bad...?"

Unwittingly, an image of the nightmarish Christmas toys flashed across Lucina's mind. She closed her eyes and saw a grinning nutcracker spring towards her with a fake hammer. Turning away slightly, she said, "I don't know."

"That's a shame," he commented offhandedly. "Honestly, these things remind me of Link's trademark tuque. Perhaps he can dress up as Santa Claus if he eats enough cake and cookies!"

They shared a laugh, though Lucina's was more like a chuckle. She gazed at her Santa hat for a long time, before something occurred to her. "Oh, Shulk, you're a genius!"

"Er... you realize I was joking about that, right?"

"Yes, yes, I am quite aware!" As amusing as the thought of a rotund Link in a Santa costume was, that was not was she was referring to. "Presents! Gifts wrapped with bows are a staple on Christmas day. I'm ashamed to think I forgot about such an important aspect until now."

"Oh, really?" Shulk looked at her. "What kinds of presents?"

Lucina seemed to consider this for a moment. "Whatever is suited to the receiver's tastes, I suppose. I know my friend Robin would greatly appreciate a new quill set, for example."

"Oh! You mean little things." Shulk placed his hand on his chin. "Hmm... I'm not sure about the smashers, but I know what my friends back home would like." He appeared to be deep in thought. A chuckle escaped his lips soon after. "Well, based on that fiasco back in the superstore, I'm sure Yoshi would appreciate a basket of fruits!"

"Of course!" Lucina smiled. "I think it's a splendid idea. I certainly hope Yoshi is alright after what transpired in the produce section..."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Shulk assured her. "Despite how he seems, Falcon is actually a pretty reliable guy. Who knew we would find him working as a manager at the superstore?"

"Certainly not I!" She placed her hat back on her head so it fit snugly, smiling as she thought about the F-Zero racer. _At_ _least_ _Captain_ _Falcon_ _is_ _in_ _the_ _holiday_ _spirit_... _perhaps_ _there_ _are_ _others_ _like_ _him?_

As far as she knew, a majority of the smashers did not seem to care much about Christmas. She surmised that was because such a holiday did not exist back in their homelands, much like Ylisse.

But when she glanced around her, the people seemed to be in such great spirits... surely, they were all missing out on something tremendous! If only she could emulate such warmth and joy back at the mansion...

"Shulk?" She turned to look at him. "What do you think about getting presents for all the smashers?"

She waited for the Monado-wielder to drift out of his reverie. He eventually turned to look at her and said, "I think it's a great idea. But how will we afford all of that? I'm pretty sure we spent most of our Smash Coins at the superstore."

They stared at each other for a long time. Eventually, a smile spread across Shulk's face and he said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

x - x - x

They stood at opposite ends of a town with pastel-colored buildings and gleeful cars. Though it was not truly a town, for there were obvious barriers around them that extended into a deadly abyss.

"Alright," Shulk said, adjusting his Santa hat securely over his head. Gold and silver gleamed from the pockets on his vest. "Let's spar for the sake of sparring. May the best fighter win!"

"I concur!" Lucina shouted, though she could not help her smile at how silly he looked. She tucked her own Santa hat over her head and patted the coins in her tunic. How lucky they were that Master Hand agreed to fund their Coin Battle!

The Ylissean Princess readied her blade and said, "Come at me!"

He didn't need to be told twice. They rushed forward at the same time and clashed blades, his crimson one against her Falchion. She was all speed and quick jabs while he possessed raw power. He swung his sword in wide arcs while Lucina was much hastier, more driven—a stark contrast to his methodical approaches.

At some point, Shulk switched to his speed arts to keep up with her, but his blade was heavy and her sword swipes were quick. She fought like lightning while his Monado was a clap of thunder upon her furious assault. He grabbed her and they stared into each other's eyes. Gold and silver fell around them like raindrops.

A black truck came whizzing by and rammed into them both, ending the match instantaneously.

They emerged from the arena with beads of sweat on their foreheads and Smash Coins in their hands. Both had lost their Santa hats during the battle, but they would not let that deter them.

"We got through that pretty good," Shulk said.

x - x - x

**A/N:** Just so we're clear, the bus was playing the 'Batman' version of Jingle Bells. XD I didn't even realize I wrote that until much, much later, but I didn't want to change it because it made me laugh.

Also, Master Hand is in charge of the mansion, but he's more like... the 'big boss'. Like, that one guy that's so important that nobody ever sees him because he's so gosh darn busy! He doesn't like to involve himself in the personal affairs of the smashers, so that's why Mario is second-in-command.

Thank you for reading, and have a Merry Christmas Eve!

- mystic moogle


	3. Culmination

They spent the next few days gathering presents for the smashers. Shulk and Lucina split the list down the middle and made a concentrated effort to come up with good ideas for every smasher. Shulk took to the more methodical approach of gathering information via the mansion's trophy room—complete with bios and published information—while Lucina preferred a more hands-on approach. She felt direct observation was the best way to learn about one's interests.

She decided to start with those from her own realm. The Hero-King had suggested a different mode of training that day: the Home-Run Contest. They each took turns racking up damage on the sandbag and launching it into a field of carefully-placed foot markers. She watched with bated breath as the Hero-King swung his bat with great fervor and the object went sailing through the air, all the way down to the 3,000 marker. That had been much better than her measly 1,500. However, it was still no match for Ike's glowing 5,000 feet—the current record.

Marth smiled as he descended from the platform, though she did not miss the small sigh and the mutter of, "What I wouldn't give for some of Ike's godly strength...". Lucina smiled as the idea planted itself in her head. She decided to sacrifice one of her energy drops for the swift but fragile king. Similarly, she would allocate a speedwing for his robust (but rather slow) friend.

Afterwards, Lucina went on a run with the Wii Fit trainers. They ran a few laps around the mansion out in the cold, winter air until the three of them were left sweaty and breathless. Of course, the Wii Fit trainers could have sprinted another few laps, but Lucina had overestimated her abilities and ran herself ragged. What amazing endurance these trainers had!

The brown-haired woman used a towel to wipe her sweaty visage before turning to her cohorts. "Great work, everyone. It's important not to overexert ourselves." She turned to her male counterpart. "Now, how many steps did we run?"

The male trainer's brows furrowed as a hand flew to his waist. "I'm... not sure. My pedometer must have fallen off during our sprint. My apologies."

His female friend let out a sigh. "Not yours, too! That blue wonder borrowed mine and lost it on a jog." She crossed her arms. "It must have been quite a jog, too, because he told me he lost his wristbands in the process. Unbelievable." The two trainers fell to a moment of agitation, before returning to their normal selves. They complimented Lucina on her abilities, but the swordswoman did not forget that rare moment of weakness. She made a mental note of what to give Sonic and the trainers.

On her way back, she came upon the short and shy Luigi. He ambled down the hallway with his gaze to the floor, muttering about how 'it sucks to be Weegie' and 'I'm always in my brother's shadow'. This broke Lucina's heart. She made her way back to her room and sat down at her desk. The swordswoman took out a quill and a piece of parchment paper and began to write... "We are so very grateful for you, Luigi. Without you, there would be no Super Mario Bros. or Luigi's Mansion!" She signed it as anonymous and attached it to a Gameboy Horror. Yes, Lucina was secretly a huge fan of the Luigi's Mansion series!

She decided to grab a bite to eat before her match with Jigglypuff. The Ylissean princess entered the kitchen and saw Kirby grilling burgers on the stovetop. He appeared to be using all his self-restraint to keep himself from inhaling the burgers; little 'poyos' of frustration spilled from his mouth as he eyed the burgers hungrily.

"May I assist you in your cooking endeavors, Kirby?" Lucina asked. The pink puffball responded with a grateful nod and handed her a spatula. Together, they flipped the patties until they were a tasty golden brown.

They sat down to eat together once they were finished. Kirby opened his mouth to inhale about ten burgers at once, before something occurred to him. He hopped off the chair and headed over to the fridge, only to see Pikachu pilfering the bottle of ketchup! He let out an incensed 'POYO!' and tackled the small Pokemon, but Pikachu didn't want to give up his precious ketchup.

Alarmed, Lucina stood up from her chair, but her attention was quickly diverted by... plumes of smoke? No wonder Rosalina didn't want to leave the little ones to their own devices! She rushed over to the stove and switched off the burner. Kirby and Pikachu quickly disentangled themselves and scrambled over to the source of disruption. The damage, however, was already done. Kirby picked up his charred spatula with a depressed 'poyo...' and Pikachu guiltily handed over the bottle of ketchup—though Lucina did not miss the way the Pokemon's ears drooped as he left the kitchen. She would make sure to rectify this, come Christmas!

With a newfound determination, she attended her match with Jigglypuff. The pink Pokemon was tougher than she looked, though Lucina did notice one shortcoming: the pink puffball kept trying to use her 'sing' technique, and not once did it work. The special move simply took too long to execute. _If only the range was slightly greater... _Lucina made a mental note to give her a microphone. Even if she could not use it in battle, she was sure Jigglypuff would have fun using it to sing her little heart out!

On her way up, she spotted Robin and Peach having tea out in the gardens. Lucina chuckled to herself. Now that she thought about it, the Mushroom Princess certainly did host many tea parties. She was sure her tea set must have seen quite a bit of use by now... luckily, Lucina had spotted the perfect tea set with a mushroom motif. She was sure Princess Peach would simply love it.

Lucina took a step back and realized she was standing by the window where she and Shulk had stumbled into one another. She wondered how he was faring. She could just imagine him standing in the trophy room in his signature thinking pose, tapping his foot minutely as he read through the bios with great enthusiasm. The thought warmed her heart.

Together, they were unstoppable!

The days continued on like so until they had gathered presents for every single smasher. Lucina had come up with ideas to give the Villager (who dearly missed the townsfolk) a box of stationery, and a new pair of mittens for Pacman since Bowser had recently scorched them in a fight. Similarly, she bought one of those apple-red scarves for the lovely Princess Zelda and a new arrow bag for her cohort, Link. Last but not least, she wove together a dream catcher for Rosalina, who had been beset by nightmares of the galaxy, since Lucina knew better than anyone how that felt.

She and Shulk consolidated their gifts at the end of the last day. The only two smashers Lucina had not been able to come up with ideas for were Ganondorf and Bowser. It wasn't as if she could (or wanted to) kidnap the princesses of their respective kingdoms, or grant them immense power. She was determined to come up with something, however.

Needless to say, they were quite exhausted. The two future-friends stood in the trophy room and reveled in their accomplishments, for thirty-five smashers was no paltry number.

"Good. We must stay on this course," Lucina said as she gazed down at her list with a sense of urgency. "There's still so much to do: the wrapping, the cakes, the Christmas decorations… We cannot settle for this!"

"Lucina." The tone of voice Shulk said her name in caused her to look up. His normally bright visage was weary. "Don't you think we ought to take a break? Christmas is important, but so are we. Honestly, I think I'm beginning to feel a bit batty..."

She felt as though an arrow had pierced her heart. "I'm so sorry," she said as she lowered her list. "You may take a break if you desire, but I'm afraid I must refuse. There is too much to be done."

He gazed at her for a long moment, before taking a step towards her. Lucina's breath hitched. He looked as if he was thinking about something...

At that moment, two pairs of footsteps sounded out in the hallway. Lucina's attention was immediately diverted. She recognized those big, lumbering steps. Moving forward, she peered through the glass doors of the trophy room and saw Bowser and Ganondorf passing by. A frisson of excitement ran through her as she wondered if anything could be gleamed from the two dark kings.

Squinting marginally, she realized Bowser was carrying a large burlap bag. From the looks of it, it was filled to the brim with strange, jagged objects pushing against the fabric. They continued down the hall with their ponderous steps, and that was when Lucina saw it.

A grinning nutcracker popped out of the loophole, brandishing its toy hammer for all to see. It caught Lucina's gaze and moved its wooden jaw up and down in pantomimed laughter. Her heart sunk like an anvil.

"No... oh, Gods, no..." She gripped the hilt of her sword and rushed forward. Shulk caught her wrist before she could come into contact with the glass.

"Lucina, what's wrong?!"

The swordswoman said nothing. Thoughts of her blurry-edged vision flooded her mind. Grimacing, she eventually said, "I'm... not sure."

"Well, _whatever_ it is," his grip tightened, "I don't think direct confrontation is a good idea. We don't know what Bowser and Ganondorf are thinking."

"I won't confront them," she replied stiltedly. "I'll just..." Her mind went blank. She wasn't sure what was going to do, but she had to get rid of that bag!

Lucina wasn't sure if it was because she had lurched forward in her haste, or if it was intentional, but Shulk's hand had slid from her wrist to her palm. He gave her hand a squeeze.

"We'll find another way," he said calmly. "You just have to trust me."

Lucina's heart palpitated wildly as she craned her head to look at him. His eyes were sky-bright compared to her dark and muddied ones. She wanted to squeeze back…

The sound of a door slam caught her attention.

"I'm so sorry," Lucina said as her hand slipped away. She felt the need to say more, but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. Averting her eyes, she left the room with a heavy heart and trailed after the two kings.

_Please, forgive me..._

x - x - x

The next few days were grim. Lucina had pushed aside her emotions completely for the greater good. She didn't dare think about what had transpired in the trophy room; instead, she focused her efforts on removing that bag from Bowser's possession. She shadowed them as surreptitiously as possible, but every time one was preoccupied it moved to the other's possession. It was truly maddening! Had all their efforts come to this? Was Christmas to be ruined by their foul deed?!

Whenever Lucina wasn't trailing them, she was planning relentlessly. Her to-do list extended far beyond what she was capable of. She often found herself lost in a sea of details, and her mind spun with all the possibilities until she was seeing red, white, and green in her sleep. There was still the cake, the cookies, the stockings...! Gods, how would she accomplish all this before Christmas?! What did she have to do to emulate that wonderful warmth in a sea of apathy?!

How far did she have to go...?

Her efforts culminated on the day before Christmas. All the smashers were gathered in the living room for an obligatory weapon check, including Ganondorf and Bowser. Lucina stilled her breath as she saw the Koopa King placing the bag beneath the tree...

_Oh, Naga! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!_

She walked forward very carefully, stalling for a moment as she garnered her faith. She waited for them to plod away before...

"HEY, what do you think you're doing?!" Bowser groused.

Lucina whirled around as several pairs of eyes landed on her. She panicked and tried to think of what the heroic pegasus knight, Cynthia, would do, or the mighty Owain.

Steeling herself, she shouted, "I will not allow you two miscreants to continue on with your nefarious deeds! This ends _now_!"

Lucina tipped the bag over in one fell swoop and its contents spilled out like a deluge. Her eyes widened.

Toys. Not the nightmarish kind, but the sweet kind. Teddy bears, trains, video games... _Where were those macabre presents?!_

She glanced up and blanched as she saw the crowd staring at her. Low murmurs broke out amongst the throng, and she caught whispers of '...been acting strange lately…' and '...skulking around the mansion…' and, worst of all: '...carrying around a notebook. Do you think she's planning something?'.

_No... no... _She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole, she was so ashamed. Lucina felt her bottled-up emotions beginning to spill over as she stood there like a statue.

"Tch! Now look what you've done," Bowser grumbled. His cohort sneered and crossed his arms.

"Foolish girl. You'd think to accuse us of nefarious deeds so easily?"

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean..."

They stared her down as if she was a speck of dust, and it felt like the room was spinning with looks of disapproval and bemusement and, dare she say it, _amusement_. The murmurs began to escalate until one voice rose above the rest.

"_Lucina_." Robin stepped forward from the crowd. "What's been going on lately?"

The crowd relented in deference to the normally quiet mage. She supposed he had always had a way of stating his opinion in large groups. Lucina gazed into his sedative eyes and knew she couldn't lie to him.

"The truth is..." She stalled for a moment. Should she tell them about the future? She cast her eyes across the crowd and spotted Shulk looking quite wary. No... she couldn't do this to him—not now. With a deep breath, Lucina reached deep into her heart, past the bottled-up emotions, and began to speak. "The truth is... I was selfish. I may know nothing about Christmas, but the idea was so magical to me that I couldn't bear to let it go. At first, my intentions were pure, but over time I became so obsessed with creating the perfect Christmas that I lost sight of myself in the process. I pushed people away and cast suspicion on others—and for that, I am sorry."

The crowd was silent, until Robin spoke up again.

"Why...? Why go to such lengths, Lucina?" His pale brows furrowed as his voice rose with his confusion. "It just doesn't make sense!"

She saw fear in his eyes—fear of there being something he couldn't possibly understand. Something he couldn't apply logic to. Lucina steeled herself and gazed back at him with the fire of a thousand suns.

"But don't you see? Christmas, to me, is about the little things. Opening a present or sharing a kiss under the mistletoe may not be important to one person, but to another, it might mean the world to them. That's why every detail is so important. Because in the end, our memories are all made up of little things that we don't realize are important until much, much later. And... I wanted to bestow as many of these little things upon the smashers as possible."

Silence rang in the wake of her speech. Robin was utterly stupefied. A quiet snort caught her attention, and she turned to see Falco covering his beak. Lucina swallowed and felt a million tiny icicles prick at her heart.

Her brows furrowed as she gathered her composure and spoke again. "But now I realize... that perhaps that was a bit rash of me. Please forgive me. I did not mean to bring harm upon anyone."

Lucina lowered her eyes to the ground and walked briskly across the room, ignoring Mario's shout of "Wait-a! I still-a need to check-a your sword!". Tears pricked at her eyes as she ambled up to her room like a ghost. She stood there in complete silence for a few moments as her vision focused in and out, barely registering her movements. Her legs felt like jelly.

Suddenly, her pent-up emotions flooded through like a dam and she grabbed her practice sword and began slashing at the sandbag. It gazed upon her with pity in its beady eyes, but she didn't care.

"HYAAA!" She delivered a particularly earth-shattering blow, overtaken by the paroxysm of her bitter rage. Over and over she delivered blow after merciless blow until her arms gave out and she collapsed. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as she basked in the afterglow of her anger. Lucina dropped her sword and crouched forward to hug the sand bag.

"I'm so sorry, my friend. Thank you for being there for me." The sandbag blinked twice to signify his understanding, that it was okay, and tears streamed down Lucina's cheeks. She didn't know how long she sat there, holding the sand bag, but by the time night fell she was calm.

She grabbed the picture of her father on her nightstand and sat down on her bed. The Ylissean princess gazed down at his calm and collected visage and hugged the photo to her chest.

"Father... I've failed you. Shulk and I couldn't save Christmas, and now I've brought dishonor upon your name." She hugged the photo even closer. "What will you think of me now...?"

Lucina grimaced as she realized the Hero-King had probably witnessed her maudlin display. Oh, how could she be so foolish! She grew more and more embarrassed as she brooded over the possibilities.

Robin was likely worried sick about her. She was always so calm and collected back at Ylisse, but she had become so emotional over something as paltry as Christmas.

_Christmas..._

A boy with pale blond locks and blue eyes flitted across her mind. First, she had betrayed his trust, and now he likely thought she was batty. Lucina's heart clenched painfully. Even so, she had still had so much fun on those first few days...

_The future... is ours to decide._

Lucina stood up and walked over to her dresser. She pulled the angel ornament out of her drawer and gazed upon it with equal parts fondness and pain. Opening the window, she flung the ornament out into the snow and watched numbly as it sailed through the air and shattered against a tree. Satisfied, she closed the window and made her way back to her bed.

The night passed by swiftly and sadly. Lucina laid on her bed in a supine form and collected her thoughts. Or perhaps she was merely staring at an indeterminate point on the wall—it was hard to tell. Robin had tried to come in multiple times, but she couldn't bear to face him right now. Even the Hero-King had tried to come in and console her, but she was far too ashamed. The only person she wanted to see right now was her father. A small part of her wondered if Shulk, her Christmas comrade, would emulate their actions, but he never did.

Perhaps that was for the best.

x - x - x

Lucina awoke to a world blanketed in a thick sheet of snow. She gazed out the window and remembered that winter was a bringer of death. Both allies and adversaries alike fell to winter's icy kiss, regardless of how 'bad' or 'good' they were. They say that spring is a time of renewal, but as she gazed out the window at the way the snow brought silence upon everything—trees, creatures, and insects—she began to wonder if winter was, too. Lucina could feel both her good and bad emotions being buried along with the land, until all was still once more.

She emerged from her room very calm. Lucina had forgiven herself. She would not brood over yesterday's events, nor show shame for her maudlin display. She was not sure what the others thought of her now, but she would not dwell upon it. Perhaps now would be a good time to repair her relationships.

The swordswoman held her head up high and made her way down the stairs. She entered the den, where many smashers could be seen immersed in their own activities. They glanced up for a moment, and Lucina's heart froze, but they merely waved and returned to their own activities. She gave a sigh of relief.

Samus was polishing her visor. Fox and Falco were planning battle strategies. Wario was counting his money, and Mario was currently tied up on a phone call to Master Hand. Others were merely reading or resting.

Lucina took a shaky breath and made her way over to the sofa, where she sat beside Fox. She would wait for her friends to arrive. For now, she would immerse herself in her own duties until they awoke.

"Morning," Fox said as he turned to her, much to Falco's dismay. "Feeling better after yesterday?"

She smiled. "Yes. I... thank you."

"No problem." The vulpine's eyes lingered on her for a while longer, before he gave a nod of acknowledgement and turned away.

Lucina gazed down at her hands, until she thought of something productive to do. She drew her blade and began polishing it with a cloth. A sinking feeling entered her as she realized she was doing the very thing she had denounced several days ago. Oh, how useless she was against the drudgery of everyday life!

She cast her glance across the room, as if she was looking for something to distract her, until her eyes landed on the table beside her. There was a piece of cake topped with strawberries—vanilla, to be exact. That had certainly not been there a few moments ago.

Her stomach rumbled and she unwittingly reached for the plate, before chastising herself. She would not steal someone else's cake, no matter how much she coveted it. Lucina was sure someone must be missing this cake very dearly right now.

She cast another cursory glance across the room, as if searching for the cake culprit. No... she was the one nearest to the door, and she had not seen anyone get up in her peripheral vision. This slice of cake had to have come from someplace else.

Had someone placed it there on purpose?

Either way, Lucina decided to pick up the plate and return it to the fridge, where (hopefully) its rightful owner could claim it. She didn't want Wario getting at it, anyways, since he was currently salivating over his money on the far side of the room.

The swordswoman made her way down the various halls of the mansion until she reached the room connecting to the kitchen. She went inside and nearly bowled over.

"Merry Christmas, Lucina!" Several smashers stood in the living room with proud looks on their faces. The entire room was ablaze with colorful crystal lights festooned across a fir tree and presents sitting on the skirt beneath it. Stockings hung from the fireplace which crackled in the cool, winter air. On the ground were signs of torn wrapping paper, meaning some presents had already been opened! Lucina was delighted.

There were only a handful of smashers, but three stood out from the rest with their glowing faces.

"I wish you the happiest Christmas," Rosalina said as she floated forward and playfully tapped her on the head with her wand. "May the stars shine down upon you tonight!"

"Merry Christmas!" Captain Falcon stepped forward with a smirk on his face as he leaned in and whispered, "I knew it was you all along, Marthur." He ruffled her hair and walked away, causing her to blush in remembrance of that embarrassing spectacle.

Right as she was adjusting her tiara, Yoshi leapt forward and quite literally tackled her in a hug. "Yoshi, yosh!" Lucina went bowling backwards into Robin, who caught her with one arm and the plate of cake in the other.

The three shared something like a group hug, until Yoshi relented and ran off to play with the children smashers (who had received the good kinds of presents). Lucina quickly recomposed herself and placed a hand on her chest.

"I... Thank you, everyone." Her smile could not possibly grow any wider. It felt like her heart was racing.

"You're very welcome," Robin said as he eyed her plate of cake. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just be taking this off your hands..."

The tactician began walking away, only to be stopped by Princess Peach. She was standing with her arms akimbo and her lips were set into a pout.

"Robin! That's Lucina's slice of cake!"

"But, Peach! You won't let me have any!"

"Only because you pilfered the last three slices!"

"Can't a man enjoy his cake in peace? Like my friend Gaius says, one must collect on the sweet rewards."

"Nuh-uh. Rosie and I worked very hard on those cakes, you little thief!"

"Heh heh—WAUGH! Peach?!"

There was a crashing noise, and Lucina suddenly had a very good idea of why Robin had been 'stressed' lately. She chuckled as she walked away and left them to their own devices.

The children smashers were enjoying their new gifts, and the rest were basking in the Christmas cheer. Even the great Hero-King was here! Lucina couldn't be happier. Everything glowed with golden radiance, and the room was awash with joy and laughter.

Even so, something was missing.

Or some_one_...

Lucina glanced around with a sinking feeling in her chest. She made her way to the kitchen as she had originally planned, and her heart lurched forward. He was standing in the middle of the kitchen, placing the last strawberry on the vanilla cake.

"Shulk..." She walked briskly towards him, causing him to spin around.

"Oh, Lucina!" He blinked rapidly and pushed the cake aside. "Er, Merry Christmas!"

"I'm so sorry," she said as her brows furrowed. "I..."

He shook his head. "You apologize too much. It was my fault, too. I should have done something sooner."

"No," she said firmly. "None of that would have happened had I not been so careless. But..." Her brows softened and the trace of a smile appeared. "Tell me, how did...?"

Shulk placed his hand on his chin as he collected his thoughts, a gesture she had come to find comfort in. "Truth be told, you dropped this on your way out." He held up a long list filled with ink-blotches and poorly-drawn sketches. She blushed. "By the time everyone filed out, there were only five of us left: Rosalina, Captain Falcon, Yoshi, Robin and I. And that's when we saw this lying on the ground. We all realized how important this was to you—and I think the others realized what we had been trying to do for the last several days—and none of us wanted to let it go. So... we decided to surprise you. Falcon got us discounts at the superstore, Rosalina set aside her rivalry with Peach to make the cakes, and everyone else helped with the decorations. I wasn't able to find the penguin ornaments, but—"

"Shulk." She reached forward and grabbed his hands. "Thank you. Truly, you have my deepest gratitude."

He gazed down at her, eyes flickering across her face with uncertainty, before his lips curled into a smile. Eventually, he burst into laughter—much to her chagrin.

"I'm sorry, Lucina," he said in between fits of chuckles, "it's just—you're so formal. I don't even know what to say!"

A smile bloomed across her face as the weight was lifted from her chest. "Well, then. Shall I forgo the formalities?"

"Of cour—WAH!"

He didn't have time to say much, for she had leapt into his arms! The two friends shared a laugh as he spun her around (once the astonishment had subsided) and they gazed at each other for a long moment.

The Hero-King walked in right then, munching idly on a piece of cake. He dropped his fork as a smile crawled onto his lips.

"I won't have to plan on having anymore unexpected descendants, will I?" he asked jokingly, much to their embarrassment.

"WHAT? NO!" Shulk quickly put her down as his cheeks flared up. "It's not like that! Really."

If Lucina had managed to blush twenty shades of red before, she was now blushing thirty. "I-indeed! We are merely friends."

Marth chuckled and walked away, muttering something in Japanese. He began whistling the Fire Emblem tune, and they knew that was their cue to leave.

Once her embarrassment had subsided and they had returned to the living room, Lucina brought up a point that had been bothering her all day. "So whatever happened to Bowser and Ganondorf?"

He paused. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I surmise they took advantage of the situation to gain the favor of the other smashers. It may have worked, but it worked for us, too!"

He gestured to the children smashers, who were playing with nice toys. Ness was using his PSI powers to fly a toy plane through the air (with a very animated Luma acting as a pilot). Yoshi and Kirby were on a quest to pilfer all the strawberries off the cakes; Kirby had used his copy abilities to gain supreme fruit-eating abilities and was currently riding on the back of the friendly dino. Toon Link was being forced to play dolls with the female Villager—much to his chagrin—though he didn't seem to mind much in light of the smile upon her face. The rest of the smashers were playing the new 'Super Smash Brothers' for the Wii U in the middle of the living room. Thank the Gods for five-player mode!

Right as a livid 'FALCON PUNCH' resounded in the air, followed by Robin's death scream and a triumphant 'Sweet!', Lucina directed her gaze to the Christmas tree. She noticed many of the presents were addressed to smashers whom were not here—ones who did not know the Christmas cheer, or ones who didn't have the time. Eventually, they would come into this room and see a present addressed to them, and maybe their curiosity would be piqued. Paired with the beautiful Christmas tree, perhaps they could discover a taste of the holiday splendor for themselves. _Then... maybe next year..._

"Lucina? I think we forgot something." Shulk pointed an index finger to the top of the tree, which was painfully bare in contrast to the colorful ornaments and lights adorning the rest of the tree. "If what you say is true..."

"Oh! You're right," Lucina said. "This must be rectified immediately." Reaching into her tunic, she searched for the angel ornament, only to realize she had stowed it away in her drawer for safe-keeping. _No... last night, I..._

She grimaced. "I'm afraid I broke it last night in a moment of weakness." _How could I be so foolish..._

"Hey, no problem," Shulk said, reaching into the pocket of his vest. "I still have mine." He produced a perfectly sculpted angel ornament and held it out in the palm of his hand. "But... I can't do it alone. We'll need a stepladder or something."

"Yes! I shall retrieve one with due haste," she said cheerily and walked away to fulfill her task. Lucina retrieved a stepladder from the closet on the other side of the room. As she was carrying it back, she heard a soft beeping noise...

"What do you suggest we do?" Shulk asked, once she had returned. He adopted his thinking pose. "I suppose one of us could hold the ladder, and the other could climb up..."

"I believe I may have a better idea," Lucina said quietly. "Pardon me, for a moment." She walked towards the source of the beeping noise. It grew progressively stronger, until she came upon Mr. Game & Watch sitting behind the couch.

"Beep... beep..." He glanced longingly toward the other smashers, and then looked down and twiddled his thumbs. Lucina's heart clenched.

"Sir Game & Watch." She crouched down to his level. "Would you care to do the honors?"

She pointed to the top of the tree. Mr. Game & Watch looked at her, and then looked at the tree, and then at Shulk who was holding up the ornament in a very awkward and endearing way.

He beeped happily and sprung up from his spot behind the sofa. The little man wandered over to the tree and held out his hands, to which Shulk acquiesced. Together, he and Lucina took hold of each side of the ladder, fully expecting the 2D man to climb up, but Mr. Game & Watch had an even better idea!

He called his two firemen with a ring of his bell and they appeared with a trampoline. Mr. Game & Watch jumped with an elated 'beep!' and sprung up into the air, much to Shulk and Lucina's amazement, and released his parachute. He floated down towards the tip of the tree and placed the angel ornament safely on top. It shone like a holy beacon in the darkness, guiding the smashers to a better tomorrow.

x - x - x

That night, Lucina received a letter. She sat down at her desk and reflected upon the events of the day. Even though the group was small, the festivities had been such great fun! A few other smashers caught wind of the merrymaking, such as the playful Palutena and the buoyant Pit. They had all gone sledding afterwards, much to Robin's chagrin, and even though they were supposed to be competing against each other, Shulk couldn't help but cheer everyone on as they raced down the hill. Oh, but after that eggnog drinking contest, Lucina sure was beat! Who knew Pit could hold his own so well? Though they all paled in comparison to the great Kirby, who inhaled everything (much to Falco's dismay, who had come in demanding a 'piece of cake').

A smile graced her lips as she unfolded the letter.

_To my beautiful daughter,_

_I'm so proud of you, Lucina. Robin told me everything. You may not be able to make everyone happy, but with the bonds we forge, those dear to us will be able to recognize our efforts. You know, the 'little things'. You always did take after your mother. Anyways, Merry Crissmiss! (I hope I spelled that right.) And tell that other boy I don't want him S-Supporting you just yet!_

_Love,_

_Your very concerned father_

A warm feeling glowed in her chest as she held the letter close to her heart. Lucina sat there for a long time, watching the snow bring its renewal upon the earth and erasing everything to canvas-white. Closing her eyes, she prayed to Naga and thanked her for the bonds we forge.

_**fin.**_

x - x - x

**A/N: **Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm so glad I was able to submit my entry before the day ended. I'm so relieved! I hope you all enjoyed it!

Heh, I'm almost tempted to make a spin-off now… perhaps with Robin's newfound love of cake and his bickering with Princess Peach, or the events that transpired after Lucina left the living room, or even Ganondorf and Bowser's lives after trying to gain the favor of the other smashers (yes, I believe in them as a duo!) … or, you know, Falcon's adventures as a manager at the superstore. XD That oughta be interesting.

Also, Luigi's bit during the present section was a reference to kevinbolk's 'Sucks to Be Weegie' comic series. I highly recommend it to any Luigi fans.

Thank you for reading! And a big thanks to Smash King24 for hosting the contest; it's really livened things up in the SSB section! And of course, thank you to the judges for reading through such a great number of entries as well.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

- mystic moogle


End file.
